The London Guantánamo has been campaigning since 2006 for the return of all British residents from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, the release of all prisoners, the closure of this prison and other similar prisons and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. Human rights for all.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A US navy nurse who refused to force feed hunger striking prisoners at
Guantánamo is continuing to face persecution from the US military. Although the
military decided not to court martial him for his actions, thereby not making
any details of the hunger strike and the feeding procedure public, as would
result from a trial, he faces disciplinary measures, which could include him
losing his job and his benefits. The nurse’s humane gesture came to light
earlier this year when a hunger-striking prisoner wrote to his lawyer praising
the nurse’s action.

On 15 September, pre-trial hearings started in the case of Abdel Hadi
Al-Iraqi who faces a life sentence for war crimes; he is alleged to be a senior
Al Qaeda commander and to have organised attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan in
2003 and 2004 that killed allied soldiers. He was one of the last prisoners to
be brought to Guantánamo in 2007, and had prior to that, after his arrest in
2006, “disappeared” into secret CIA torture prisons.

At the hearing, Al-Iraqi met his military lawyer for the first time. Although
his previous lawyer was dismissed, he is still also seeking a civilian lawyer
to work on his case, which he is not automatically entitled to, as he is not
facing capital charges. At the hearing, the prosecution asked for all details
relating to his interrogation to be kept secret. Although the prosecution
claims he was not subject to “enhanced interrogation methods”, such as
waterboarding, it said it was up to the CIA to say what could be disclosed.

Three prisoners,
Saeed Mohammed Saleh Hatim, Abdurrahman al-Shubati and Fadel Hentif, have
applied for an en banc rehearing of a case that was decided by a US federal
court of appeal at the beginning of August, ruling that military guards at Guantánamo Bay can carry out intimate physical
searches of prisoners, lifting a previous ban. The court had held that the
action was not unconstitutional. Counsel for the three prisoners is asking for
the case to be heard by all the judges at the same court and questions the interpretation
applied by the court.

Lawyers for Canadian former prisoner Omar Khadr headed to the Canadian
federal courts in early September to resume a case that was stalled in December
last year when the judge said that the lawsuit, first brought suing the
Canadian government for involvement in Khadr’s torture in 2004 when he was still
held at Guantánamo, had to be rewritten. It was resubmitted and Khadr’s lawyers
sought to expand the claims against the Canadian government to include
conspiracy by Canada with the US in the abuse of his rights and his torture. Lawyers
for the Canadian government said that under Canadian federal law, the US
government could not be brought into a civil claim and that this issue could be
dealt with under the existing claims. The judge reserved judgment on the case.

While Uruguay waits to receive the 6 Guantánamo prisoners it has said it
will take as refugees, the government of Peru has ruled out taking any Guantánamo
prisoners, following a US request. http://www.peruviantimes.com/19/peru-says-no-to-guantanamo-prisoners/22916/
The Chilean government has also said that taking Guantánamo prisoners “is not a
priority” for the country after weighing up a similar request.

Lawyers for the US government are seeking to keep proceedings secret in
a court hearing to be held in early October concerning the force feeding of
hunger-striking prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. The lawyers claim that it is a
matter of national security. The case brought by Syrian hunger striker Abu Wael
Dhiab concerns the methods used against the prisoners and the forced feeding
against their will to keep them alive. This is illegal, when carried out on a
rational prisoner, almost everywhere else in the world. Earlier this year, an
emergency injunction to halt his force feeding was soon overturned but the
government was asked to disclose tapes showing the force feeding. While lawyers
on both sides will be heard at the hearing, US government lawyers are seeking
to keep the public and the media out.

The US released 14 Pakistani prisoners from Bagram prison in Afghanistan.
Although it handed authority over the prison to the Afghan authorities last
year, the US has maintained control over up to 60 foreign nationals, mainly Pakistanis.
This is the largest group of prisoners, who have less rights than Guantánamo
prisoners, to be released in one go. Over the past year, 39 Pakistanis are known
to have been released from Bagram, in most cases only to face further
persecution once back in their own country. Two Yemenis and a Kazakh prisoner
were also released last month. The actual number of prisoners and the
conditions and reasons for their detention are highly guarded secrets by the US
military.

With the US officially ending its involvement in the war in Afghanistan
at the end of this year, even though it plans to keep 10,000 troops there, the
future of the remaining Bagram prisoners remains unknown. Transfer to Guantánamo
is unlikely but the US intends to maintain control over them.

The September “Shut
Guantánamo!” demonstration was attended by 8 people. The October demonstration
will be at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy and 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker’s Corner,
Marble Arch on Thursday 2nd October: https://www.facebook.com/events/1446269325597802/

As part of a government consultation on anti-terrorism
laws, one of our activists recently corresponded with David Anderson QC, the
government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, about Shaker Aamer:
http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/david-anderson-qc-shaker-aamer-and-anti.html
Their correspondence and Anderson’s referral to sources that suggest practices
that would be illegal in this country, such as prolonged detention without
trial or charge, speak volumes about the government’s actual attitude to
Guantánamo prisoners such as Mr Aamer.

The IRCT in
Copenhagen, which coordinates the actions worldwide on International Day in
Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, published its annual report of
actions and features our London action on pages 34-35:

Friday, September 19, 2014

As part of a review of investigatory powers prior to the general election in 2015 announced by Theresa May MP, the Home Secretary, to be carried out by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC, a call for submissions was made https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/review-of-communications-data-and-interception-powers/ (open until Friday 3 October 2014).In response to this call, an LGC activist made an independent submission to draw awareness to the case of British resident Shaker Aamer, still held in Guantánamo Bay, given that David Anderson QC is the independent advisor to government
on the highly sensitive issues of counter-terrorism and
counter-radicalisation. In spite of his legal credentials, his response was a referral to
reports that support the idea that it might not be unfair to condemn
someone without evidence and abuse and imprison them without charge or
trial, based simply upon unfounded suspicion and prejudice. Such views put forward by a senior legal figure appointed by the British government undermines the government's claims that it is committed to the rule of law and Mr Aamer's quest for freedom after having been held for almost 13 years without charge or trial and the least due process.

"26 August, 2014.

Dear David Anderson

Evidence for
Investigating Powers Review

You have rightly commented that counter-terrorism is an
important task that cannot be accomplished through legislation alone. The
cooperation of individuals and communities is a vital element in countering “radical”
ideas and indoctrination. It is important that those responsible for setting
agendas for social responsibility, for civilising values, for cooperative and
tolerant attitudes and behaviour, for acceptance and tolerance of difference,
and for the setting of examples and inspiring virtuous and humane aspirations,
as well as their various audiences, should feel valued, comfortable, and at
ease with UK society and government.

I wish to draw your attention to the situation of Shaker
Aamer, his family and supporters and many who have been actively campaigning,
with no visible result, for over seven years. Shaker and his family decided
that the Islamic commitment to supporting charity through contributions to the
Friday collections was inadequate. Accordingly the entire family relocated to
Afghanistan to do charitable work. After 9/11 the American ‘cavalry’ charged in
with a mission to exact brutal retribution on anyone they determined, without
evidence, could possibly have been implicated in the establishment of an
Afghanistan-based terror machine. His wife and family escaped via Pakistan and
have awaited, in Battersea, the return of their much loved father and husband
since 2001. Shaker has been appallingly treated. He was cleared by six security
agencies as being of no value as a Guantanamo prisoner in 2007. (This is
security apparatus speak for: he is innocent, should never have been detained,
has no evidence of any wrong-doing or malicious intent against his name, has no
intelligence value and should be released immediately as his continuing
imprisonment is a further gross injustice, compounding all previous injustices,
and a cost and burden on the government of the United States.) For lack of any
evidence or hint of wrong-doing he has never been charged or tried and there
are no proposals to do so.

David Cameron. William Hague and Nick Clegg have all
pledged to engage with US authorities to secure his release and return but
since there are no results their pledges ring decidedly hollow. Jane Ellison MP
for Battersea was comparatively active till promoted to a ministerial post. This
government instituted an epetition scheme to enable issues of concern to
electors to be properly aired. Over 117,000 signatures were collected for
Shaker Aamer. I am certain that many times the number could have been were organisation
better coordinated, and certainly there are many thousands who know and
understand the story – and feel aggrieved at the treatment of an innocent
charity worker simply because he was a Muslim charity worker in Afghanistan.
The promised Parliamentary debate has not even been scheduled and there is no
evidence that action is even in prospect. Records show that Britain was
covertly complicit in Shaker’s treatment and suspicion naturally gravitates
towards an explanation for delay implying that government embarrassment is the
cause of Shaker’s continuing imprisonment. When I talk to Muslims particularly
they are often inclined to express frustration over injustice, bigotry and
prejudice. Nor are feelings of scepticism, betrayal and injustice confined to
Muslims. Government inaction cannot be viewed in a positive light by anyone and
procrastination and delays simply confirm in the minds of those, inclined to
suspicion of government motives and intentions, that justice and treatment of
Muslims is of a secondary order to the rest of UK society; and injustices are
the result of government prejudice against Islam generally. I don’t believe
this is at all helpful to community relations. I have repeatedly attempted to
draw government’s attention to this issue without result. I have written to the
Intelligence and Security Committee and to COBRA but my concerns were brushed
off. Your predecessor, Lord Carlisle seemed also to be distinctly underwhelmed.

If what you said about perceptions and community relations
was meant I would urge that you urgently make representations to anyone who
will actually listen and get those in positions of responsibility and influence
to take some effective action to bring Shaker back and reunite a family whose
only motive for travelling to Afghanistan was to do something effective to make
life better for others. For those in authority and power, who repeatedly like
to point fingers of responsibility elsewhere, I can only say that the
perception is that they are responsible for inaction and continued injustice,
whatever I or anyone else says. It is not easy to accept a proposition that the
UK government is powerless to effect the release and return of an innocent
husband and father to his family in Battersea when the USA authorities themselves
have cleared him for release in 2007, and again since, and have determined that
there is no evidence of any wrong-doing whatsoever against him. Government
correspondence is diverted through a Whitehall department called the Counter
Terrorism Office which it is understood is staffed by former MI5 and MI6
officers whom it is widely believed have disincentives for actioning the
release of Guantanamo prisoners; innocent or no. For their own sakes, for those
with power and influence, and for
everyone else’s sake therefore it would be best to bite the bullet and resolve
the issue now before further time and distrust are able to continue to corrode
community relations. This must make good sense for you and colleagues who are
attempting to resolve potential problems of “radicalisation”.

I do look forward with great interest to your response
and, judging by your own very sensible observations, sincerely hope that you
will use your good offices to draw attention to the widespread perceptions of
hypocrisy in this matter, urging that speedy and urgent action be taken now. I
look forward to your response with hope and anticipation."

Though I consider Guantanamo to be a serious blot on the record of
the United States in the “war against terror”, I regret that I am in no
position to take a view on contested facts in the case of Shaker Aamer,
still less to add my voice to the campaign
for his release. My statutory functions begin and end with the review
of certain specific UK counter-terrorism legislation. Though as you
point out in the title of your letter I shall also be conducting an
Investigatory Powers Review over the next few months,
it does not appear that the issues you raise fall within the scope of
that review either.

Take action!

We hold a regular monthly demonstration calling for the closure of Guantánamo Bay. Our March demonstration is on Thursday 8 March at 12-2pm outside the US Embassy, 33 Nine Elms Ln, London SW11 7US: https://www.facebook.com/events/975903689224552/

Follow by Email

About Me

The London Guantánamo Campaign has been campaigning since 2006 for the return of all British residents from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, the release of all prisoners, the closure of this prison and other similar prisons and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. Also on Facebook and Twitter.